Acid is used in various processes employed in the manufacture of microprocessors and other semiconductor devices. One such process is an etching process in which acid is heated to a predetermined temperature by a heating element. Referring to FIG. 1, a heating element 10 is shown arranged in an overlapping configuration to form a coil 16. The coil 16 is held within a substantially U-shaped casing 18 which is immersed in the acid (not shown). The coil 16 is fabricated from a pair of hollow plastic tubes 14 each of which include a wire 12 connected to a power supply. An electric current causes the coil 16 to increase in temperature and thus heat the acid to a predetermined temperature suitable for etching. One such heating element, also known as an electronic immersion heater, is manufactured by Lufran and designated as model no. SB5-302-A05, although other models are also used. Referring to FIG. 2, a portion of a tube of the heating element 10 is shown. As described previously, each of the tubes 14 are hollow and include a wire 12. Over time, however, it has been found that the tube 14 deteriorates, enabling acid to leak inside of the tube 14, thus necessitating disposal of the tube 14.
It is known that the acid utilized for etching is an environmental pollutant. In order to reduce or eliminate pollution, it is desirable that the acid that has leaked into the heating element 10 be neutralized before the heating element is disposed of as municipal waste. A manual procedure is used to neutralize the heating element 10. This procedure includes manually clipping and slitting apart the tube 14 with knives and/or cutters. The heating element 10 is then placed in a liquid base material for neutralizing the acid.
However, manually clipping and slitting apart the tube 14 is a cumbersome and time consuming operation. In addition, manually clipping and slitting apart of the tube 14 frequently results in the spattering of acid on the operator. The acid and base are hazardous materials and exposure to these materials can be hazardous to the health of operators. Therefore, use of the manual procedure results in exposure to materials which are detrimental to the health of the operators.